The PCAOB and Its Quixotic Quest

In 1605, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra published part one of The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha.  In 1615, he published part two.  In various ages, the novel’s theme has been thought to be a comedy, a philosophical defense of the individual in a crazy world, and a social commentary. The novel’s protagonist is a [...]

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2011 AICPA Accounting Competition

The 2011 AICPA Accounting Competition is now accepting entries.  Last year I reviewed the submitted videos from the finalists, and thought they were very impressive.  Copied from the website: The 2011 AICPA Accounting Competition asks college students to flex their fraud and forensic skills in advising a client on a major overseas expansion. The top [...]

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ProfAlbrecht’s Most Influential

Last year, the Accounting Today published its list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in [American] Accounting on September 9, 2010.  I don’t know that it ever causes a stir, but we talked about it on AECM.  AECM is the e-mail listserv for accounting professors (with a membership of 750).  We wondered why no one [...]

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JDA’s Rant on Auditing

Adrienne Gonzalez is JDA, and she writes the blog Jr Deputy Accountant.  She also writes for Going Concern. Every year she becomes less and less junior, she is no deputy, and has never been an accountant.  Never-the-less, she has quite a following in the accounting world. Like a lot of accountants these days, she drinks, smokes, [...]

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More on the Latest SEC Non-Scandal

Last week I wrote (GRATA’s Non-Grata News) about Senator Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) inquiry into the SEC destruction of evidence.  Most journalists and bloggers have led with splashy headlines.  However, there have been a few voices of sound reason, such as Broc Romanek of CorporateCounsel.net and Tracy Coenen of The Fraud Files Blog. Much discussion has [...]

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Denver AAA – Day 5

Today is Wednesday, August 5.  It’s all over except for a few meetings.  The commercial exhibitor’s hall is already closed.  The career center interview room is open only for a few hours.  Some professors have left already, others are leaving throughout the day.  Only a few remain until tomorrow. I only meet with representatives from [...]

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Denver AAA – Day 3

Today is Monday, August 8.  The American Accounting Association (AAA) annual meeting is in full swing today.  For me, this day will be busier than yesterday’s 15 hour day. The annual business meeting of the Teaching, Learning & Curriculum section of the AAA is held at breakfast.  Traditionally, the scheduled time for it is from [...]

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Inside Public Accounting’s Top 100 Firms

Inside Public Accounting has released its list of the largest U.S. auditing & accounting firms.  Inside Public Accounting has been compiling this list since 1991.  Before that, the Top 100 list was compiled by Public Accounting Report.  The list is available online here. I have excerpted the top 25 firms from the list.  Following each [...]

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GRATA’s Non Grata News

The Summa deals with all matters related to financial reporting (i.e., financial statements) and auditing, so it’s natural to cover the Great Regulator of All Things Accounting (GRATA).  The news spreading today is very non grata (grata means “welcome,” so “non grata” means “not welcome”), at least to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yesterday, [...]

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Miscellany

Auditor rotation – where you pick one up and spin it around. When rotating auditors, I prefer to skewer mine from head to toe. Has anyone asked if auditor rotation could make matters worse?  I didn’t think anyone had, but it is possible. In an environment with mandatory rotation, auditors will no longer be able [...]

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Denver AAA – Day 2

Today is Sunday, August 6.  This will be my busiest day of the American Accounting Association annual meeting in Denver.  My highlight?  Conducting two workshops. My day starts at 6:15.  Why do hotel wake up calls sound like sadistically played cymbals? Sunday is CPE workshop day, a favorite part of the AAA annual meeting.  Everything [...]

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PCAOB to Discuss Concept Release on Audit Model

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has scheduled an open meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 16, at 9:30 a.m.  In this meeting, the Board will consider a concept release soliciting public comments on ways that auditor independence, objectivity, and professional skepticism could be enhanced, including mandatory audit firm rotation. The meeting is to be live webcast [...]

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